Islanders First Playoff Game at UBS Arena Comes at a Good Time

UBS Arena, the National Hockey League's most beautiful ice palace, had to wait a year before it could host its first Stanley Cup playoff game but the wait is over as of tonight.

Game Three of the postseason tourney with Carolina in Elmont figures to be as melodramatic as can be, especially following the controversial overtime match on Wednesday, won by the Hurricanes.

But, for me, this playoff world premiere is especially personal since I have followed the Islanders arena saga ever since the first playoff game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the spring of 1975 when the Islanders hosted the Rangers.

We all loved the Coliseum but time and neglect took its toll, and after a quarter century of use, it became apparent that The Old Barn eventually had to give away to a new home for the National Hockey League franchise. But, for The Maven, as a reporter, the eternal question was when?

In that regard, I conducted at least three interviews with Nassau County executives about replacing the Coliseum with a new rink, but nothing came of it except enough hot air to fill two circus tents.

Then the late Islanders owner Charles Wang unveiled a sensational "Lighthouse" plan that would have included a new rink but -- in the end -- it, too, was rejected by local politicians.

As we all know that was followed by the somewhat dubious Barclay's experiment in Downtown Brooklyn.

In a sense, Barclays was a blessing if only because it saved the Islanders from moving anywhere from Kansas City to Who-knows-where. That was a real threat, and it caused quite a bit of realistic anxiety throughout Islanders Country.

At last, the ownership duo of Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky came to the rescue and saved the storied franchise. What's more, they then set into motion what was to become UBS Arena. I was enthralled as their blueprint moved from dream to reality.

On my various tours, as construction moved along, I began to realize that this was to be the arena of all NHL arenas. It would become an edifice unmatched in hockey history for its magnificence in all elements of architecture.

I had the pleasure of being at the curtain-raising Islanders home game on November 20, 2001, when Brock Nelson became the first home team goal scorer at UBS. I have since watched in awe how the arena has been warmly embraced by the community and the greater hockey world.

But the one thing missing since that grand opening in 2021 was a real, live playoff game. And now, at last, we have it. Playoff hockey has come to Elmont.

Believe me, folks, I've covered all sports -- from the Brooklyn Dodgers World Series victory in 1955 to the Islanders' initial Cup win in 1980 -- and when it comes to sheer sporting thrills nothing beats the run for Stanley. How heartwarming it is to have all the thrilling playoff pomp finally embrace UBS.

What's more, all the elements of a postseason melodrama are in place. We have here a keen rivalry, controversy, and -- one can say without fear of contradiction -- that a genuine sporting "hate" that now exists between the Islanders and Hurricanes.

The Nassaumen are seething over their two losses in Raleigh and bent on revenge. More than anything, the disjointed 6-0 penalty division in Game Two and the non-call when Scott Mayfield was high sticked still rankles.

But L'Affaire Mayfield is over and done with; which means that the Islanders' focus must be on winning tonight's hockey game and another one on Sunday.

"I'm excited. I know they're gonna be loud," Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said Friday morning. "I know they're excited to have playoff hockey back here and they deserve it. They deserve playoff hockey every year so yeah, I know they're gonna be loud tonight and will be bringing some noise.

"We could use it."

A new hockey day has come for UBS Arena, and another chapter is added to the Islanders rich hockey history.

Let's all hail the first playoff game at UBS Arena!